About e-pistulae
What is it?
e-pistulae is the letters of Cicero, from the summer of 45 BCE up to his death in 43 BCE (spoilers), emailed to you on the day each letter was written.
Who is Cicero?
Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 BCE) was a lawyer, orator, politician, philosopher, and author. He was elected to the consulship, Rome’s highest elected office, in 63 BCE, at the youngest possible age, despite being a novus homo (new man), who had no senatorial ancestry. During his year as consul he uncovered and suppressed the (alleged) Catilinarian conspiracy, causing the (alleged) leader Catilina to flee from Rome, and executing the other (alleged) conspirators. In 58-7 BCE Cicero was exiled by his enemy Clodius on the pretext of the illegality of executing Roman citizens without trial. When civil war broke out between Caesar and Pompey (49-45 BCE), he reluctantly joined the Pompeians, and after their defeat at Pharsalus, was pardoned by Caesar and returned to Rome. There he focused less on politics and more on his philosophical works, especially after the death of his daughter, Tullia, early in 45 BCE. And that’s roughly where we start!
You can read Plutarch’s biography of Cicero here, and Cornelius Nepos’ biography of Cicero’s closest friend and frequent correspondent Atticus here.
Notes on the Text
e-pistulae uses the slightly outdated but also out of copyright 1899-1900 translation of the letters by E. S. Shuckburgh. The chronological ordering is also Shuckburgh’s, checked against the ordering given in the Loeb editions of the letters. There are a few letters of introduction which Shuckburgh dates to no later than 44 BCE, but which cannot otherwise be precisely dated, and so will not be included.
As of 2023, e-pistulae mostly follows the ordering given in the Loeb editions of the letters, and the text is translated by me.
Each letter is followed by a link to the Latin text, a link to the in-progress glossary of people and places, and brief explanatory notes. If you know something interesting that isn’t in the notes, feel free to add it as a comment. If you notice an error, please tell me! If you are Shackleton Bailey’s ghost, please leave me alone!
Resources
Download Shuckburgh’s translation of the letters from 48-44 BCE
Glossary (updated as we go, It Is A Google Doc, might not be great on mobile)
Collection of public domain Loebs, including Cicero’s Ad Atticum and Ad Familiares
Cornelius Nepos’ Life of Atticus
This is the place where I say thank you to Resident Cicero Expert Kathryn Stutz, without whom this would not exist :-)
